The Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payments has increased the number of companies indicted in its probe to 25 from an earlier 21.
The four new companies indicted by the committee for a total sum of N6.49 billion, are Capital Oil Plc, Ceoti Limited, Heyden Petroleum and Master Energy Oil and Gas limited.
This brings the total new fraudulent subsidy claims amount by the 25 indicted companies to N388.49 billion.
This was contained in a letter written to President Goodluck Jonathan, by the chairman of the Committee, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.
“We write to clarify that the number of likely fraudulent cases for criminal investigations contained in the Presidential Committee report on Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payment, identified Twenty-Five (25) oil-marketing and trading companies (OM&Ts) and not Twenty-One (21) as inadvertently stated in the summing up of the infractions,” Aigboje wrote in the letter.
Twenty-one oil-marketing companies and importers had earlier been indicted by the committee, for making fraudulent subsidy claims which might have cost the nation N382 billion, out of the N403 billion verified by the Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payments.
The 21 companies earlier indicted by the committee are Conoil Plc, MRS Oil and Gas Ltd., Capital Oil and Gas Industry Ltd. Aluminnur Resources Ltd., Brilla Energy Ltd., Caades Oil and Gas Ltd., Downstream Energy Source Ltd., Eterna Plc and Eurafric Oil and Gas Ltd.
Others are Lumen Skies Ltd., Majope Investment Ltd., Matrix Energy Ltd., Menon Oil and Gas Ltd., MOB International Services, Nasaman Oil Services Ltd., Natacel Petroleum Ltd., Ocean Energy Trading and Services, Pinnacle Contractors Ltd., Sifax Oil and Gas Company, Tonique Oil Services Ltd. and Top Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd.
The Federal Government has already spent N493.67 billion on fuel subsidy claims this year, with N451 billion out of the amount used, to settle the 2011 arrears.
A total of N888 billion was earmarked for subsidy payments in the 2012 budget.
Government had stated last week, that indicted oil marketers would not be paid subsidy claims, while dismissing the threat of strike by the marketers.
The current scarcity of petroleum products in some parts of the country, particularly the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, has been blamed on the refusal of the marketers to lift products, due to the decision of government to withhold further subsidy payments.
Paul Nwabuikwu, Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Finance, said in a statement last week, that government had been discharging its responsibilities to marketers whose claims had been verified.
Nwabuikwu said, “The claim by some marketers that they have embarked on strike because the Federal Government has failed to pay them for fuel imports, is not accurate. The true position is that the Federal Government has been meeting its obligations to oil marketers, in respect of all legitimate claims.
“For instance, between April and May 2012, batches D/12 and E/12 involving 14 oil marketers with a claim of N17bn, were fully settled through the issuance of Sovereign Debt Notes and other relevant documentation.
“In addition, since the directive by the minister to the Debt Management Office, to continue payments of all verified claims, N25.6bn worth of claims, has been fully settled, with the issuance of Sovereign Debt Notes. In all, between April and August this year, in respect of 2012 PMS claims, Sovereign Debt Notes amounting to N42.666bn have been issued to 31 oil marketers.”
The subsidy verification committee’s terms of reference had included to verify and reconcile all claims made in the report of the Technical Committee on Fuel Subsidy Payments, and properly identify all cases of overpayments and/or irregular payments.
It was also meant to accurately identify for criminal investigation, all likely fraudulent cases, review any other pertinent issues that might arise from its work, and make appropriate recommendations.
